New Von Richthofen DR1

[Bedlam]

I just thought you might like to see what the new Von Richthofen mini is going to look like:



No, I'm afraid it's not a sneak preview. It's a repaint of the Rahn DR1. Mine represents 477/17, in which Von Richthofen claimed nine of his victories. I've yet to add the serial number, and the straight crosses date the aircraft after March 1918, as depicted in the Camel vs DR1 "Duel" book.

The underside is predominantly sky blue, and the streaky green is my attempt at the Fokker factory finish. The blob on the cabane strut is a mistake I only just noticed...

[rkhlegacy]

Very nice repaint John! Great Work.

[Coog]

Very good job. Shows a lot of talent and a steady hand!

[gregbond77]

Nice repaint John!

[tuladin]

Very nice repaint - and very close to the revised deluxe set version, which you can see here:

http://www.wingsofwar.it/read.asp?id=3737

Click on the thumbnail pic, and don't block he pop-up.

[Maniac]

That's a very nice paint job, the red came out quite nice.

[Bedlam]

Yes. I painted this one before I knew there was going to be an 'official' version.

Had I known they were going to do another 'Red Baron', I'd have done mine as Lothar's aircraft. Still, they are easy and fun to do, so I might do a few more of the flying circus. Cue sudden increase in sales of Rahn Triplanes!

I was going to do a Werner Voss, but his aircraft was actually quite boring and nobody can agree what colour the engine cowling was. It had a different tail as well, being a prototype.

[Oberst Hajj]

Nice repaint John, thanks for sharing it with us.

[rrodrick]

Very nice repaint. Very inspiring I think. Not so overwhelming that one thinks "I won't even try."

[Flying Officer Kyte]

A very good rendering of the aircraft in Question. I like the finish, very authentic.
Rob.

[Guntruck]

Yep, very good paint job. I like the subtle streaky finish.

[bsmith13]

Beautiful work!

[Pope]

Hi John,
Nice job can I ask what red paint did you use and did you basecoat first? Red is always a problem colour with my models, but not as bad as yellow.
Cheers Aled

[Bedlam]

I really ought to start writing this stuff down!

As I recall I used a basecoat of thinned GW Mechrite red with a bit of blood red added. This covers pretty well but it's a bit dull. The topcoat was about a 50/50 mix of P3 Skorne Red and GW Blood Red.

Red and yellow never cover very well. I was once told it's because the good pigment is toxic so we have to make do with a safer alternative which isn't so good. GW paint is particularly poor. None of their yellows are any good. Blood Red is a good colour but covers terribly. Their pots are crap and the paint dries out, but the new pots are better if you can open them. The foundation paints are very good, but as the name suggests are best suited to basecoating as the colours are very muted.

Vallejo do a good yellow - 70953 Flat Yellow which works well over a basecoat of Iyanden Darksun foundation paint.

Privateer Press' P3 paints always do the trick for me, although they have let me down a bit with their reds.

The trick is to get the paint nice and thin and do several coats. If you try and put it on too thick it just gets dragged about and dries uneven. Thin it out so it's like milk and it will find its own level. If you can see brush strokes in the paint, it's not thin enough. It will look awful when you put it on, but will turn more opaque as it dries. You just have to accept that you might need to do three coats. Don't make the mistake of using a brush that's too small, either. The smallest brush I use is a 1, and that's for eyes. I usually use a 2 on 28mm minis, and the DR1 was painted with a size 5. A soft, pure Kolinsky sable brush will give a very fine point even if it's a big size, and will hold lots of paint which will flow smoothly.

I've painted a lot of red. I have a Blood Ravens Warhammer 40K army and I'm working my way through a Skorne Hordes army.

[Pope]

Thanks John, I'll give the paint mix a go. I use the foundation paints on my 28mm figures but have never thought of watering them down and will give it a go. I agree with you about P3 and recently have started using some of their paints to replace my older GW ones as they run out. I'm finding a major difference is the amount of flat surfaces on WoW palnes and as you say the possible risk of brush marks compared to figure painting.

Good luck with the hordes army, I'm sure they'll look great if you Space marine Captain from the Assult on Black Reach set is anything to go by.

Cheers,

Aled

[bumblie3]

Brilliant re-paint John, well done.
John.